Happy birthdayShia LaBeouf!
The outspoke actor, artist and Trump critic turned 32 on Monday, capping off what’s been anothertumultuous yearfor theTransformersstar.
After aracist rantdirected towards police went viral following an arrestlast summer, LaBeouf recently toldEsquirethat he’s turning over a new leaf and taking steps towards getting sober.
He’s also been seen working on hisnew movieHoney Boy, a semi-autobiographical tale about his own childhood.
From his Trump protests, artistic experiments and arrests, the following is a rundown of LaBeouf’s biggest headline making moments:
Playing His Dad in a Movie
CPR / BACKGRID
LaBeouf isplaying his own father in the loosely autobiographical movieHoney Boy,which he co-wrote. Oscar nomineeLucas Hedgeswill star as a young LaBeouf in the film that follows a former child star attempting to mend his relationship with his alcohol-abusing father, according toVariety.
The 31-year-oldactor wasrecently spottedon the set of the new film looking completely unrecognizable with long hair extensions and a balding cap. The actor also sported bushy sideburns and large circular glasses to complete the transformation.
The Georgia Arrest
In the April issue ofEsquire, LaBeouf gave his first-sit down interview since his “mortifying” 2017 arrest — during which he went on a racist and expletive-laced tirade at police officers.
“What went on in Georgia was mortifying,” he remarked toEsquire,calling it a mixture of“white privilege and desperation and disaster.”
Chatham County Sheriff’s Office/AP
At the time ofhis arrest last July, LaBeouf was charged with public drunkenness and disorderly conduct, although the former charge was later dropped. In October, the actor pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of obstruction. After footage of the incident was released online showing the actor’s foul-mouthed tantrum while resisting arrest, LeBeouf apologized for his behavior, calling the incident “a new low,” and adding that he was“actively taking steps toward securing” sobriety.
LaBeouf’s attorney Brian Wolf told PEOPLE at the time that the lawsuit is “baseless” and that they would be seeking dismissal of the case.
TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty
After both the New York and New Mexico locations of his anti-Trump art installationHEWILLNOTDIVIDE.USwere shut down, LaBeouf and hiscollaborators Rönkkö & Turnerannounced last March that they were relaunching the project overseas.
The livestream protest has been moved to the Foundation for Art and Creative Technology (FACT) in Liverpool, U.K.
“Events have shown that America is simply not safe enough for this artwork to exist,” the triosaid in a statementon FACT’s website. “We are proud to be continuing the project at FACT, an arts centre at the heart of the community.”
Over the weekend, LaBeouf shared an image of the exhibit on display in Poland.
The Trump Protest Arrest
LaBeouf was back in the spotlight in January after he was arrested in New York City following an alleged altercation at the site of his art-installation protest piece. The actor was accused of attacking a 25-year-old man outside the Museum of the Moving Image, and was charged with misdemeanor assault and a harassment violation. He was released hours later and and promptly returned to the protest site.
The art installation — titled “He Will Not Divide Us” and set to run 24 hours a day over the next four years — features participants being encouraged to chant that phrase.
Vegas “Wedding”
It turns out LaBeouf’s surprise Las Vegaswedding ceremonywith Mia Goth in October 2016 was no performance art piece — it was the real deal.
“I did, yes,” LaBeouf, 30, replied. “You said ‘I think’ because you thought I was messing around or something.”
Hitchhiking Across the Country
Answering Interview Questions in Verse
Talking about Alma Har’el’s documentaryLoveTruewithComplexin April 2016, LaBeouf turned to that most noble of art forms, poetry, to express his thoughts on the subjects of the documentary, people asked about their experiences with “true love.”
“we’re all cut from the same clothI’ve been watching them from afarfor a few years nowit’s been quite powerfulBoth w/ distance& to be in the presence ofThese people are magicalAnd extraordinarily strongIt’s humbling”
Itishumbling.
Locking Himself in an Elevator
Again with Rönkkö and Turner, LaBeouf performed a project called #ELEVATE in February last year, in which the three spent 24 hours inside an elevator in Oxford, England. Fans were invited to join. LaBeouf addressed Tinder, shared his favorite song with a group of fans and naturally, took plenty of selfies.
In November 2015,LaBeouf participated in/createdanother multimedia livestream project, this one titled #ALLMYMOVIES, in which he watched all 27 of his feature films, in reverse chronological order, in New York City’s Angelika Film Center. He took five-minute breaks in between films, but otherwise did not leave the theater.
Writing an Essay About His Arrest Record
For the bookPrison Ramen— which also includes arrest-themed essays from celebrities like Taryn Manning, Slash and Danny Trejo —LaBeouf contributedan essay called “Error Breeds Sense” that recalled his many brushes with the law. Among the insights presented: His fourth arrest, after refusing to leave a Walgreen’s in Chicago, resulted in “the best sleep ever” “for some reason” when he spent the night in jail. Ironically, prior to the book’s release, he was arrested for public intoxication in Austin, Texas.
ThatMotivational Video
In June 2015, LaBoeuf recorded a series of 36 videos in conjunction with with students from U.K.’s Central Saint Martins fine art B.A. degree show (as well as Turner and Rönkkö). In the clips, the actor read text the students had submitted in front of a green screen that could eventually be changed to whatever the students liked. While students had LaBeouf recite everything from a Charles Bukowski poem to the mantra “om,” the one that really stuck out was of the actor simply screaming a series of motivational phrases, e.g. “Don’t let your dreams be dreams” and “Yesterday, you said tomorrow. So just do it. Make your dreams come true. Just do it.”
That ‘Enslaved’ Quote
In an April 2015 interview withVariety, LaBeouf expounded on his views of art, which included the somewhat unfortunately phrased line, “The requirements to being a star/celebrity are namely, you must become an enslaved body.” He described the concept of stardom as “outmoded” and expressed his preference for performance art rather than acting.
The ‘Elastic Heart’ Video
TheCabaretArrest
In June 2014, LaBeouf was arrested at Studio 54 in Manhattan after interrupting a performance of the Broadway showCabaret, having an intoxicated brawl with a homeless person and disrupting patrons of various bars and restaurants in the Midtown area.He later apologizedfor the incident onTheEllen DeGeneresShow, saying he went through an “existential crisis” in 2014 that resulted in “some hiccups, some judgement errors.”
The Paper Bag Red Carpet Walk
#IAMSORRY
In February 2014, LaBeouf created an art exhibit in L.A.’s Cohen Gallery entitled #IAMSORRY. A riff on the early works of performance artist Marina Abramović, the exhibit saw LaBeouf seated silently in an empty room with an assortment of props like whips, candies and instruments. Visitors were allowed to enter the room one at a time. Perhaps most disturbingly, in November 2014,he later claimedhe was raped during the exhibit. “One woman who came with her boyfriend, who was outside the door when this happened, whipped my legs for 10 minutes and then stripped my clothing and proceeded to rape me,” he wrote in an email interview.
The Skywriting Apology
In January 2014, LaBeouf was embroiled in a controversy wherein he was accused of copying graphic novelist Daniel Clowes’ work.He apologized via skywriting, hiring a plane to write “I am sorry Daniel Clowes” across the skies of L.A.
The Broadway Dropout
In what could have been considered the beginning of the actor’s “troubled” period,LaBeouf dropped outof a 2013 revival of the playOrphanson Broadway alongside Alec Baldwin. He cited differences with the show’s director, Daniel Sullivan, as part of his actions, and later made a series of public apologies,many of which were plagiarizedfrom the work of others.
source: people.com
